Snaring Fox, the Blu-ray Group launches new DVD security features

Sony added the 20th Century Fox motion picture studio to its roster of supporters last week after the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) agreed to add watermarking technology to its spec.

The BDA said it plans to fight piracy by embedding an identification mark on movies, music and video games that can only be read by equipment that carry its technology.

In addition to the security measures that HD-DVD and Blu-ray are devising as they compete for support in Hollywood, both are promising increased storage capacity and resolution superior enough to get the most out of high-definition television sets.

The Blu-ray technology would prevent unauthorized users from mass-producing discs on stolen disc-making equipment by requiring authorization codes. Blu-ray-coded discs will also contain a feature that would not play on machines that have been tampered with.

Skeptics have little faith that any security measure can protect digital content. The electronics companies that make disc players and the studios that provide content may end up having to make versions for both Blu-ray and HD-DVD formats, which could cost billions. That’s why many in Hollywood are hoping for a resolution.

One of the two groups vying to produce the HD generation of DVDs has rolled out new security features to entice entertainment and electronics companies to adopt its technology--even while content providers appear to be temporarily retreating until the incompatibility issue is somehow resolved. The Blu-ray Disc Assoc

Hewlett-Packard, a longtime supporter of Blu-ray DVD technology for HD discs, formally joined the rival HD DVD Promotions Group this week, despite the fact that things have been shifting Blu-ray's way for the past few months in the political, psychological and technical battle for format dominance. HP's relati

JVC is unveiling its Blu-Ray/DVD Combo ROM disc with a 33.5 GB capacity. The disc can store both HD and SD video has a one-side readout, triple layer structure of an outer 25 GB Blu-ray disc (BD) and an inner 8.5 GB DVD dual layer. A disc can be reproduced in high-definition BD video quality on a large home theatr